[Illustration: " By Heaven, the girl on the mantelpiece at Hatcham
Ford! "]

CONTENTS

I. WHAT IS SHE LIKE?

II. MAKING AMENDS

III. ON THE USE OF SCRAPES

IV. AN UNPOPULAR MAN

V. RAPIER AND CLUB

VI. TAKING TO OPEN SEA

VII. THE FLICK OF A WHIP

VIII. A SECRET TREATY

IX. THE INSTITUTE CLERK

X. A FRIENDLY GLASS

XI. THE SIGNAL AT "DANGER"

XII. SAVING A WEEK

XIII. THE BOY WITH THE RED CAP

XIV. THE EIGHT FIFTEEN TRAIN

XV. IN THE DOCK

XVI. NOT PROVEN

XVII. ONE OF TWO LEGACIES

XVIII. THE NEW CAMPAIGN

XIX. A CASE OF CONSCIENCE

XX. LIVING PIECES

XXI. NATHAN AND DAVID

XXII. THE ALTERNATIVE

XXIII. ON ALL GROUNDS RIDICULOUS!

XXIV. A CHANCE FOR THE ROMANTIC

XXV. A FRESH COAT OF PAINT

XXVI. PEDIGREE AND BIOGRAPHY

XXVII. A MAN OF BUSINESS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

"By Heaven, the girl on the mantelpiece at Hatcham Ford!"

"He might have given me a chance!"

Jenny was crouching on the floor beside Powers

"A fresh coat of paint wanted!"

THE GREAT MISS DRIVER

CHAPTER I

WHAT IS SHE LIKE?

"Perhaps you won't believe me," said I, "but till yesterday I never so
much as heard of her existence."

"I've not the least difficulty in believing you. That was old Nick's
way. It wasn't your business was it? so he didn't talk to you about
it. On the other hand, when a thing was your business that's to say,
when he wanted your services he told you all about it. But I believe
I'm the only person he did tell. I'm sure he didn't tell a soul down in
Catsford. Finely put about they'll be!"

Mr. Cartmell, of Fisher, Son, & Cartmell (he was the only surviving
representative of the firm), broke off to hide a portion of his round
red face in a silver tankard; Loft, the butler, had brought it to him on
his arrival without express orders given; I had often seen the same
vessel going into Mr. Driver's study on the occasion of the lawyer's
calls.

He set the tankard much lightened it must have been on the mantelpiece
and walked to the window, taking a pull at his cigar. We were in my
room my "office" it was generally called in the household. He stood
looking out, talking to me half over his shoulder.

"A man's mind turns back at times like these. I remember him hard on
forty years ago. I was a lad then, just gone into the business. Mr.
Fisher was alive not the one you remember not poor Nat but the old
gentleman. Nat was the junior, and I was in the last year of my
articles. Well, Nick Driver came to the old gentleman one morning and
asked him to act for him said he thought he was big enough by now. The
old gentleman didn't want to, but poor Nat had an eye for a man and saw
that Driver meant to get on. So they took him, and we've acted for him
ever since. It wasn't many years before he " Cartmell paused a moment,
laying the finger tips of his right hand against the finger tips of his
left, and straightening his arms from the elbow like a swimmer "before
he began to drive his wedge into the county."

The good man was fairly launched on his subject; much of it was new to
me, in detail if not in broad outline, and I listened with interest.
Besides, there was nothing else to do until the time came to start. But
the story will bear a little summarizing, like a great many other
stories; Cartmell was too fond of anecdotes. Thus summarized then:

Nicholas Driver began life as a tanner in Catsford. He was thrifty and
saved money. With the money he bought land and built some villas; with
the rent of the villas more land. He had faith in the development of
Catsford. He got early news of the coming of the railway; he pledged
every house and every inch of land and bought more land. So the process
went on detailed by Mr. Cartmell, indicated here... Continue reading book >>